Redemption in hell
by LaKiziAi
Summary: You were trying to do the right thing when everything went wrong. Now you're a prisoner subject to a strange parole with the spirit gang and the shinobi, one of whom has caught your eye-or rather you caught his. Jin/OC Rated M for future smut


Life in a spirit world prison was mind numbing. She'd heard it said before but she never truly understood. More than the brawls, the uncomfortable bed, the disgusting food, the dullness was the worst thing about the prison. It left one time to ponder...and thinking was not something Aldora wanted to do at that point in her life.

Earlier in the day she fought a particularly bitchy low level demoness. The guards broke up the fight, but not before Aldora nearly gouged out her eyes.

"What's she in for? Bet its bad," said one of the guards who'd pulled her off the bitch. She was standing outside her cell, watching her.

"It is, but common for demon world. She's a kinslayer. Killed her own sister...mention anything about it and she'll go apeshit, like what you saw today. Lucky you didn't get injured trying to stop her...she's knocked other guards out before." The more experienced guard replied.

"So she killed another demon, whoever it was to her...that's not really our problem is it?"

"You're right, except her sister was a half demon who lived in human world. She found her and killed her outside of a school. Sick shit."

"That's pretty cold. Why'd she do it?"

"Who knows, demons are just violent creatures."

Aldora stopped listening after that. Better to leave them thinking she was more dangerous than she really was...she had her reasons for killing her sister. She was the only one who needed to know.

Still, she wished she could have avoided it. The years in this prison made her think of all the alternatives, what could have happened, what should have happened, what would have happened if she hadn't gone through with it. It made her unsure of herself. In any case it was late...she would sleep and probably dream of that night again.

"Those who volunteer will be looked on favorably by Lord Koenma, and could receive reductions in their sentences!" An annoyingly high pitched ogre yelled at the front of the assembly. These things happened every so often...some office worker from spirit world would come looking for volunteers for a scientific study, or some menial task like border patrol or cleaning up parks. She hadn't even listened to the pitch for this one. She was practically snoozing, and no one was raising their hands which left an awkward silence. The ogre shifted, clearly uncomfortable with the many blank demon eyes staring up at him. That was when _he_ stepped in. Aldora recognized him at once.

"Is that...it couldn't be. Yoko Kurama? In a human body? No...but feel that energy. It's definitely him, I'll remember that energy till the day I die..." Aldora heard a few demons whisper around her. "I totally fucked that guy once" another one said crassly. But Aldora had no run-ins with this boy in demon world. She had seen him only once, in the human world. He attended her sister's school and he'd approached her when he noticed her stalking her sister.

_"You're terrible at hiding your energy," he sneered. Aldora grimaced. _

_ "Who are you? I can tell you're not human...not fully anyway." _

_ "Who I am is of no concern to you...unless you make it so. Why are you following Mizuki?" He accused. Aldora scoffed. _

_ "Why should I tell you? Butt out, or I'll make you." She extended her claws and hissed. Before she could blink he had a pointed rose stem pressed against her neck. _

_ "I suggest you make clear your purpose or I'll have no choice but to assume the worst."_

_ Aldora thought for a moment, stunned by his agility. _

_ "She's my sister," she whispered. "I just wanted to see her. I just want to make sure she's doing ok." _

_ "If she had any demon blood I would have sensed it. You're lying." He dug his rose stem a little deeper into her neck, drawing blood. _

_ "No its true! She has a seal on her lower back...her mother told her it was a birthmark, but it contains her demon energy so she can't access it...so she can have a shot at a normal life in this world." The rose stem had deepened in her neck as she spoke, but the boy abruptly removed it once she finished. _

_ "If you want her to have a normal life, you shouldn't be here." _

_ "I know it's selfish of me. But I wasn't intending on revealing my presence." The boy nodded at that. _

_ "I'll let you stay until the end of the school day, but afterwards you must return to demon world. I have ways of transporting you if you won't go willingly," he threatened. _

_ "No need for that, I'll go on my own. I wasn't planning on staying long anyway. It's her birthday today. She doesn't know it though." _

_ The boy nodded for her to leave and Aldora jumped into a nearby tree and tried to hide her energy. She wasn't a particularly proud demon—she'd let the boy threaten her, though it was true he was stronger than her, she could sense it. She would obey him but only because it didn't interfere with her plans anyway. _

"Koenma has sent me to explain our mission."

"TRAITOR!" "RAT!" "HOTTIE!" The prisoners called out once the boy started talking. At once, a black blur whizzed through the room and a sword was held against the neck of the demoness who'd yelled the loudest.

"Let the man speak," said a small demon in a black cloak at the other end of the sword. The room went quiet.

"Thanks Hiei..." the boy looked a little uncomfortable, but continued with ease. "As I was saying, our mission is simple but we need some dedicated insiders. Unfortunately Hiei and myself are a bit too famous to go undercover anymore, and our group of interest is an all female demon gang that's up and coming in underground circles. They've been causing some trouble in human world, but they've been difficult to trace. Anyone willing to infiltrate their ranks for us will be released, on parole, immediately after the mission." Well, that was a better offer than the ogre made it sound.

"You're them spirit detectives aintcha!?" Yelled one demoness from the front row. "Well I'd rather eat the scum off my boot than work with you're kinda scum." Some hoots of approval were heard in the crowd.

"I'll do it! Parole right after!? I don't care what team I'm on, I'm looking out for number one!" Other demonesses yelled.

"Only those who are useful will be considered. Let's test them right now Kurama," said the smaller demon. He smirked and removed the bandana around his head. Suddenly the air was filled with a kind of miasma...his energy was leaking out, filling the entire room. It felt as if the air weighed more—it was heavy in Aldora's lungs. Many of the prisoners screamed and fled the room, fighting through the guards. Other's stayed with their heads held in their hands, gasping. Aldora sat in her chair seemingly unaffected...she felt discomfort from this demons immense energy, but she was nowhere near as agonized as the others.

"That one will do," the demon Hiei said to his friend while looking Aldora over. Kurama turned his gaze to her and his eyes widened in surprise...then his brow furrowed in anger.

"Not that one," Kurama said through clenched teeth as he glared at her.

"She's the only one who could handle my energy. What's the problem?" Hiei seemed a bit impatient

"We can't trust that one..."

Hiei seemed to think for a moment as he looked at Kurama.

"Hn. Even so, we don't have much of a choice. No one else here is up for the challenge, and I doubt we could pass for females no matter how made up we are. Perhaps with this kind of prize she'll be more accommodating than...whatever your past experience is with her."

Kurama said nothing, just continued to stare into Aldora's eyes with anger. She stared back with equal intensity.

Kurama tore his gaze away and walked towards the door out of the rec room. Hiei returned his headband, covering his Jagan eye. The energy lifted from the room and Aldora could breath comfortably once more...as comfortably as she could in an awkward situation like this one.

"Follow us, girl" Hiei said. A guard stepped up to handcuff Aldora but Hiei stopped her with a gesture. "There's no need for that. Though she could stomach my energy she's still a weakling. There's no way she'd escape us. Come." Hiei appeared next to Aldora and began to walk towards the door.

Aldora thought about it. She could go, and be rid of this place forever...and she'd still live with her guilt. She'd have to work under a man who clearly hated her and could probably make her life even more of a hell, if he wanted to...which it seemed he did. But he had known her sister...maybe if she helped him she could acquire some sort of redemption.

Aldora stood up and followed the smaller demon. He glanced her way before continuing onward out of the prison.

Hiei was a quiet one...so was Aldora, which made for a relatively awkward walk to the portal to spirit world. Aldora figured, or at least hoped she would be filled in on the details of whatever she had to do soon. She was actually a little disconcerted leaving the prison. It was a boring and unpleasant place, but her years there were the longest time she'd ever spent in one place...it was almost home.

"Step in" Hiei urged her. Kurama was nowhere to be seen—Aldora figured he'd gone on without them. She took a breath and jumped into the portal.

She landed with an ungraceful thud in what seemed to be an office hallway. Hiei appeared soon after and began walking. She figured she should follow him. Ogres were transporting files and stacks of paper wherever they passed. Some answered phones, other yelled across the hall. There was more activity here than Aldora had seen in a long time. Hiei stopped at a large doorway. Aldora almost walked into him, distracted by all the hustle and bustle. After a second the doors opened slightly, and Hiei walked in. Aldora followed.

"So here's the new recruit. Let's see now you are...oh yes...prisoner number 34601, Aldora of...the Makai...well that's not very specific," A toddler mumbled from behind a large desk. Aldora was taken aback...she had never seen the Prince of Spirit World, but she'd heard of his unusual appearance. It was really quite funny, but Aldora didn't feel much like laughing at the moment. She could sense Kurama's presence here, and she felt his eyes burn through her. He was keeping himself hidden on purpose, trying to intimidate her. It was working.

"Oh I see...a terrible crime but a first time offense. That means you're eligible for this mission, and apparently the only one qualified. You're not very talkative are you?" The toddler looked up at her expectantly. Aldora looked back at him blankly. He cleared his throat. "Well, you have the demon energy levels necessary...let's introduce you to the rest of the gang! Ogre! Let them in!"

Aldora almost flinched when a loud voice yelled from behind her, "IS THIS THE GIRL!?" The noise was like nails on a chalkboard.

"Hm, she's prettier 'n I thought..." said another voice. She could tell by their energy that the voices were human. They walked up beside her and began inspecting her. She did the same. One boy was tall, with red hair and a stupid expression. The other was shorter, with slicked back hair and a confident gaze. He looked into her eyes expectantly and she raised a brow at him.

"Well, do you talk or what?" Said the shorter boy.

"What would you have me say?" Aldora responded.

"Ah so she does speak! Um...well lets start with your name."

"Aldora."

"Aldora...nice name. I'm Yusuke."

"And I'm Kuwabara, its a pleasure to meet you!" said the taller redheaded boy. Aldora didn't respond.

"Kurama, why are you seething in the corner?" the boy with slicked backed hair chided. Aldora figured by his tone that they were friends.

"I have an unpleasant history with this demon," Kurama said succinctly.

"Huh. I haven't seen you this mad before. You must've done something really awful to get on Kurama's bad side like that," Yusuke said, looking at Aldora. She looked him in the eye then looked down. "Yeah, that looks like shame to me." Damn, this kid was blunt.

"Well lets see here Yusuke...hmmhmm, seems this one killed a human that attended Kurama's school. Yeesh, I can see why you're angry Kurama," the toddler exclaimed as he looked through a file. It seemed like they didn't know about the run in Aldora had with Kurama.. He was probably covering his own ass.

"What!? You mean we're working with a cold-blooded murdering demon here!? How can we trust her!?" Yelled the tall redheaded human.

"The same way you trust me. Don't forget I'm also forced to be here, but my imprisonment in human world is reduced as a result. The reward is even greater for this girl. I doubt she'd risk that," Hiei said from by the doorway. The human didn't seem so convinced but shut his mouth.

"Well no point in wasting time. Let's get one thing straight," Yusuke pointed at Aldora. "I don't care what you did, as long as you can be useful. Will you be?"

Aldora hesitated for a moment, amazed by this young human's bluntness. She nodded.

"Good."

"Ooohweee is it tense 'n 'ere, you'd think someone up'n died!" An Irish accent mused from the doorway. 'Oh god, there are more?' Aldora could barely handle the ones she'd already met. "Oooh 'n a pretty lass ta boot! 'Ello there, the names Jin!" The demon walked up to her with such a friendly smile...it was the nicest face Aldora had seen in a long time. She couldn't help but reply.

"I'm Aldora."

"Aldora...aye there's a name fittin' the face. Lovely ta meet ya." Four other demons walked in behind this one, greeting the spirit detectives as they entered. They were all pretty chummy for such an odd group. Aldora had heard of these demons before—shinobi, the most skilled assassins demon world had to offer. Why they'd be in with this crowd was beyond her.

"So, yer the bait for that gang o' gals? Ya aint ne'er been undercover b'fore, 'ave ya?"

Aldora shook her head no.

"Ah, it'll be tough, bu' thats wha' me n' the gang 'er 'ere for. We're the experts."

"Oh the sheila ain't got no stealth!? Well don't you worry, we'll teach you as much as you need ta know!" A drunken Englishman threw his arm around Aldora's shoulder, more to support his own weight than greet her...and man was he heavy.

"Ye'll break the poor lass ya big brute!" Jin laughed at his teammate. The man stepped off and shifted to look Aldora in the eye.

"Say, you're a right beauty. What's your name again?" His face was flushed and his breath stank of booze.

"...Aldora."

"Aldora...I'm Chuu." His face came in closer as he inspected her. "So, what were you in for?" Aldora tensed up. She didn't want to talk about that, especially not with these strangers. Besides, they could just take a look at her file and figure it out. "Oh, right then. Sorry I pried." Chuu backed up.

"Aldora, these men will be your teammates from now on. You'll take lessons from them and act in accordance with any plans they may make, otherwise you're sentence will not be reduced. Is that understood?" The toddler nearly yelled over the conversing demons and humans. Aldora nodded. "Good. Well then, take her away boys."

With that Aldora was practically pushed out of the office room and into another portal. The scent on the other end was decidedly human.

"Welcome back to human world," Yusuke said with a smirk. Aldora felt sick to her stomach. "Well I'm off. You guys know what to do right?" The demons nodded and suddenly Aldora was pulled by four hands up into the trees.

"Step 1- conceal your presence!" Whispered the child in the shinobi group from a branch besides Aldora's. She eyed him. "Don't look at me like that! Just focus on your energy. Reel it inside of you, like…like you're cold and your energy is warmth." The other shinobi were nowhere to be found, in the tree or on the ground. Perhaps they were hiding their energies. She took a deep breath and thought of her energy. She thought about it as if it radiated in tendrils around her, and she contracted them to be close.

She wasn't sure she was really doing anything until the kid said "Huh, you're a fast learner."

She turned to look at him and found empty space. Suddenly she felt an impact on her chin, that putted her off the branch, and then down to the dirt. Just before she hit the ground, a gust of wind swooped her back up to the sky.

"Well ye've concealed your energy, butcha aint detected others yet." An irish accent came from her left. Aldora hardly heard Jin. She was suddenly losing the momentum from the upward gust and gravity was taking hold again. She flailed her arms out to Jin, and he laughed and grabbed her wrist to pull her close. Aldora was mere inches from him when she noticed they were in fact inside an air bubble of sorts, the wind sweeping around them but not through them. "There'd be no point in lettin ya die now, we've still got so much trainin ta do!"

"How comforting," you muttered. Jin chuckled and beamed at you. You couldn't help but feel suspicious at his wide grin. "What are yo—?"

You couldn't get the words out before Jin pushed you out of the bubble at an amazing speed. You were flying through the air, wind whipping you, before you hit something warm and too soft to be a mountain or tree. You turned to look up — it was Jin, smiling back down at you. "Well, I didn't say we'd go easy on ya did I?" And he did it again, this time pushing you upwards. You got the message.

You tried to ignore the wind and the slowly decreasing level of oxygen as you ascended, to focus in on Jin's energy. You closed your eyes to do so, before receiving a powerful punch to the cheek, sending you spiraling downward. You ignored it, another test from Jin. You remembered his energy and tried to keep focusing on it, honing in. Suddenly it clicked— you felt him coming from your left.

You opened your eyes and brought your arms up to block. You were right about the direction but not the attack. He quickly adjusted to kick you in the stomach instead of punch you in the face where you expected he would. "You're getting better!" He yelled as you flew away from the impact. 'Fuck you' you thought, keeping your eyes on him. But then he disappeared. You quickly tried to latch on to his presence again. There, from below. You shifted and punched downward, hoping to intercept him. He blocked just in time.

"Much better. Ya really are quick ya know that?"


End file.
